Snow-clearing machine.



PATENTED APR. 7, 1903.

No. 724,469. 4 v

" F. 0.. HARRIS.

snow GLEARINGMAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1902.

3 SHEETs-SHBBT 1.

6% 9 Inventor,

N0 MODEL.

Witnesses;

Attor n eys Tn: annals Pawns c0. gum-u'mou wnsnmumn, u. c

No. 724,469. PATENTED APRJ], 1903; F. 0. HARRIS." snow CLEARING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 5, 1902- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Attorneys S by NOMODEL No. 724,469. PATENTED' APR. 7, 1903.

F. G. HARRIS. SNOW CLEARING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1902. I0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Eazlerza Harrfg Inventor,

Qr M M w d ttornevs UNITED STATES.

PATENT @FFICE.

FREDERICK CLINTON HARRIS, OF SACKVILLE, CANADA.

SNOW-CLEARING MACHINE.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 724,469, dated April '7, 1903.

7 Application filed July 5, 1902. Serial No. 114,391. (No model.)

To (LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK CLINTON HARRIS, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Sackville, in the county of Westmoreland,in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Snow-Clearing Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a snow-clearing machine or species of snow-plow adapted for widening a path already cleared through a snow-bank by an ordinary plow, and, further, particularlyadapted for enlarging the cleared space on the sides of railway-tracks.

The object of my invention is to produce an apparatus which shall positively remove the snow by excavating the same, raising it above the height of the bank, and throwing it to a distance on each side of the track instead of acting in a manner to simply push the snow aside, and thus compact the same, and, on the other hand,avoiding the use of the winged plow and other devices now in use.

The devices thus far invented, so far as known to me, are classifiable in general according to diiferent methods of operation, and I do not here refer to the ordinary plow, which is adapted to clear the path directly in front of itself and no wider or but little wider than the plow itself. This plow is operated on railway-tracks to a fixed width, which is necessarily limited by the distance from the tracks of platforms, sidings, bridges, watertanks, and the like. When it is necessary to widen the track farther than the snow-plow clears it, the snow is removed either by means of a winged plow, which pushes the snow laterally from the track, or by means of a slicer or cutter, which cuts'the snow-bank on'either side anddraws it iutothe center of the track, whence it is removed 'by a rotary plow. The first system of widening the road is obj ectionable, inasmuch as the tendency of the snow is to become harder and harder until finally the winged plow can do dothing, and the track has to be widenedby hand, and the limitations of the winged plow are consequently but too well known to all railroads that need to fight snow. The second system is objectionable chiefly because it necessitates two operations for removing the snow, thus involving great expense and time.

The object of mypresent invention is therefore to produce an apparatus which shall widen the road to any desired extent by a single operation and which may be attached 6o to a train, and thus travel at a great speed. Tothese ends my invention consists in the main in a pair of cutters or chutes which are mounted on an inclined plane at opposite sides of a car or truck and in such a position that their inner edges are within the line of the already-cleared path, while their outer edges extend to the point to which the road is to be widened. These cutters are of rectangular or L shape in cross-section and extend obliquely upwardly; but at the top the side wall'is curved outward, and the action of these cutters is to scoop up the snow and cause it to be pushed by the advancement of the cutter up the incline, and finally the curve at the upper end of the chute causes the snow to be thrown violently away from the track and at a point above the top of the snow-bank. My invention further consists in a special form of mounting which I have arranged for these two pairs of cutters whereby they are arranged, by working suitable hand-wheels, to be drawn together or pushed out to any desirable distance, according to the width to .which the road is to be widened or to which it has been widened, and also for the purpose of enabling the apparatus to be drawn within the limits of embankments, bridges, platforms, passing trains, and other objects on the side of the track. 7 i

My invention further consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described,and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings accompanying this speci fioation I have illustrated one f'orm of my invention, and therein- Figure 1 is a plan view-of a complete snow- I clearing machine built according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. it Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central section of the same. Fig. 4 is a transverse section through the chute-frame, taken at right angles thereto-that is to say, on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a similar section taken on the line 5 5 of Figs. 1 and 3. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail View, on an enlarged scale, of the adjustment-gearing.

The same numerals of reference denote like parts in each of the several figures of the drawings.

In the drawings is shown a portion of an ordinary flat-car 7, which is mounted upon a truck 8, having wheels 9 rolling on a track 10. On this car is arranged to be mounted a framework 11, which supports the apparatus forming myimprovement; butit will be understood that the fiat-car is illustrated merely by way of example, as ordinarily the device may be arranged to roll upon atruek or trucks of its own. The framework 11, as shown, comprises a pair of side beams 12, mounted in oblique position on the end of the car and secured thereto by bolts 13, as well as by diagonal braces 14 and 15, also secured to the sills or other parts of the car-body 7 by bolts 16 or other fastenings, as shown. The two side beams 12 are connected at various points along their length by a series of rectangularly-extending crossbeams 17. On these cross-beams rest the chutes 18, which are two in number, one at each side of the car, and consist of inclined floors 19, extending from near the track to a height sufficient to raise the snow clear above any desired snow-bank, While the side walls 20 of the said chutes are vertical and parallel with the track at their lower portions, rising from the inner sides of the floors 19 a distance of some three or four feet high to prevent the snow from falling inward, and near the top they curve outwardly, preserving a rectangularity to the floors 19, as shown at 21, or they may be slanted sufficiently to make a slight acute angle with the floors 19, if desired, to prevent the snow from being shot over the top of the walls. These side walls 20 maybe reinforced at their lower portions by steel Wear-plates 20, and theyare firmly braced and secured in position against lateral pres sure by metal straps 22 and diagonal braces 23, Whose other ends are fastened to a series of cross-beams 24, which extend beneath the floors 19 of the chutes and project inwardly across the framework 11, being of about the same length as this framework, so that'they will cross the same from side to side when the device is in completely-retracted position. As shown, the beams 24 on theopposite chutes are arranged to overlap one another in pairs corresponding with the cross-beams 17 of the stationary framework and sliding on the latter longitudinally, and they are held in their proper positions by stirrups 25, which extend over the beams 24 and are secured at each end to the beams 17 by transverse bolts 26. It will thus be seen that each chute is enabled to slide independently in and out lat- T orally, so that the chutes may be separated from each other to the desired extent by the mechanism which will now be described,

Each chute has fixed to its supportingbeams 24 and extending longitudinally of the chute an adjustment-shaft 27, on the upper end of which is a hand-wheel 28, and it is mounted to rotate in suitable bearings 29, lying within the diagonal braces 23. On each end of the adj nstment-shaft 27 is a small gearpinion 30, which meshes with a gear-wheel 31, mounted on a winding-arbor 32, carried by bearings 33 on two of the adjacent beams 24:. To each arbor are fixed, by means of fastenings 34, the free ends of a pair of chains 35 36, whose other ends are attached to eyebolts 37, secured in the side beams 12 of the frame. The two chains 35 and 36, connected to each arbor 32, extend, respectively, to opposite sides of the framework, and in one of them-that is to say, the chain 35--I prefer to insert an iron rod 38 to fill out that portion of the length of the chain which is not adapted to be wound on the arbor 32. These chains are so attached to the arbor that when one of the chains is completely wound on the arbor the other chain is completely unwound, and vice versa. It will be seen, therefore, that by turning one of the hand-wheels 28 the gears 31, and thereby the arbors 32, connected with that hand-wheel and to the chute to which it belongs, are rotated, and thereby one of the chains 35 36 is caused to he wound on each of the arbors 32, while the other one is unwound, and in this manner the chute is slid laterally toward or away from the center, according to the direction of rotation of the hand wheel. The other chute is similarly operated, so that, two men standing on the platform 39, which may be suitably raised and supported on posts 40 at the rear of the chutes, may cause the chutes to be withdrawn or extended to any desired extent simultaneously by turning the hand-wheels 28, and, fur thermore, the chutes are always maintained in parallel relation to the work. I do not, however, limit myself to this arrangement of hand adjustment, because the chutes can be equally well worked by compressed air or steam, as will be readily understood by those skilled in the art; but I merely illustrate this as the form in which the machine is being at present built.

In operating the-machine it is attached to the rear of an engine or train, and the chutes having been extended to the necessary distance to which the road is to be widened the forward end cuts down beneath the snowbank and raises the snow, and by reason of the momentum of the apparatus the snow when it strikes the curved upper ends 21 of the chutes is hurled violently outwardly to a considerable distance from the track, it being understood that as the machine can be drawn along at a high rate of speed the eifeeti veness of the work'done by it is greatly increased.

\Vhile I have shown in the accompanying drawings the preferred form of my invention, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise form shown, for many of the details may be changed in form or position without afiecting the operativeness or utility of my invention, and I therefore reserve the right to make all such modifications as are included within the scope of the following claims or of mechanical equivalents to the structures set forth.

Having thus described myinvention, what 1 claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. A snow-clearing machine for widening cleared roads, comprising a pair of inclined chutes separated by an intermediate space and adapted to raise the snow at the sides of the clearing and throw it outwardly over the adjacent banks. 7 2. A snow-clearing machine for widening cleared roads, comprising a pair of parallel inclined chutes separated by an intermediate space and having vertical walls at the inner side, said vertical walls being curved outwardly at the upper end, whereby the snow at the sides of the road is raised and projected outwardly.

3. A snow-clearing machine for widening cleared roads, comprising a chute having an upwardly-inclined floor and a vertical longitudinal inner wall, a framework adapted to be moved along the road on which said chute is mounted, and means for sliding said chute laterally with respect to said'framework.

4. A snow-clearing machine for widening cleared roads, comprising a pair of chutes separated by an intermediate space and having each an upwardly-inclined floor adapted to raise a strip of snow clear of the snowbank, and a vertical wall at vits inner side curved outwardly near the top, whereby to prevent the snow being raised from falling -inwardly and to throw it outwardly as it reaches the top.

5. A snow-clearing machine for widening cleared rods, comprising a chute having an upwardly-inclined floor adapted to raise a strip of snow clear of the snow-bank, and a vertical wall'at its inner side curved outwardly near the top, whereby to prevent the snow being raised from falling inwardly and to throw it outwardly as it reaches the top, a series of transverse sliding beams on which said chute is mounted, an inclined framework on which said beams are adapted to slide, and means connected with said beams for sliding said chute in and out.

6. A snow-clearing machine comprising a carriage, an inclined framework mounted on one end of the carriage, a pair of chutes mounted in an inclined longitudinal position on said framework and at opposite sides of the same, said chutes being adapted to raise the snow and throw it outwardly, a series of transverse beams on which said chutes rest and which are adapted to slide longitudinally on said framework, a longitudinal shaft, and means for turning the same, and means connected with said shaft, whereby the rotation of the same causes said chutes to be moved together or apart according to the direction of rotation. 4

7. A snow-clearing machine comprising a carriage, an inclined framework mounted thereon, a pair of chutes mounted longitudinally and in an inclined position on said framework, a pair of adjusting shafts rotatably mounted on each chute, adjusting means mounted on the shafts, winding-arbors connected with said shafts,- and chains secured to each of said winding-arbors and to opposite sides of the framework.

8. A snow-clearing machine for widening roads comprisinga carriage or truck, an inclined framework mounted on one end of said truck and extending to near the ground, said framework having a series of cross-beams, a

pair of chutes of L-shaped cross-section having upwardly-inclined floors and vertical inner walls and mounted to slide laterally on said framework, two series of beams on which said chutes respectively rest and securedthereto, said beams of the respective chutes being arranged in overlapping relation so as to slide past each other, stirrups embracing said beams and the cross-beams of the frame-' work, and means for causing said chutes to be drawn together or sired extent.

9. A snow-clearing machine .for Widening cleared roads, comprising a carriage or truck, an inclined framework mounted on one end of said truck and extending to near the ground, said framework having a series of cross-beams, a pair of chutes of L-shaped cross-section having upwardly-inclined floors and vertical inner walls and mounted to slide laterally on said framework, two series of pushed apart to the debeams on which said chutes respectively rest and secured thereto, said beams of the respective chutes being arranged in overlapping relation so as to slide past each other,

stirrups embracing said beams and the cross-* beams of the framework, a pair of longitudinal adjusting-shafts rotatably mounted on the beams of the respectivechutes, means for rotating said shafts, gear-pinions carried onthe upper and lower ends of each shaft, a pair of arbors at the upper and lower end of each shaft, a gear mounted on each of said arbors and meshing with one of said pinions, and a pair of chains connected with each arbor at one end and at its opposite end with the sta tionary framework, whereby the rotation of i said adjusting-shafts causes the chutes to be drawn in or out.

10. A snow-clearing machine for widening cleared roads, comprising a carriage or truck,

an inclined framework mounted on one endof said truck and extending to near the ground, said framework having a series ofcross-beams, a pair of chutes of L-shaped cross-section having upwardly-inclined floors and vertical inner walls and mounted'to slide laterally on said framework, two series of beams on which said chutes respectively rest and secured thereto, said beams of the respective chutes being arranged in overlapping relation so as to slide past each other, stirrups' embracing said beams and the cross-beams of the framework, a pair of longitudinal adjusting-shafts rotatably mounted on the beams of the respective chutes, means for rotating said shafts, gear-pinions carried on the upper and lower ends of said shafts, a pair of arbors at the upper and lower end of each shaft, a gear mounted on each of said arbors and meshing with one of said pinions, and a pair of chains connected with each arbor at one end and at 

